Road Trips Through History: A Collection of Essays from Preservation Magazine gathers the articles written by Dwight Young between 1992 and 2003 for his column in the magazine. All in all, the book covers fifty-four articles, all embracing a wide variety of subjects. However, they all have a deep connection: not only are they related to historic preservation, but also to emotions and feelings. Young does not just advertise the importance of historic preservation by offering his potential readers a boring description of places, measures that are lacking, or buildings that are disappearing. In the three parts of this book, Young covers very many different subjects, in a very lively and captivating way.
In his first part, entitled Voyage, Young mostly focuses on different trends that are emerging in the United States. For instance, destroying historic downtowns to then realize that it was better before and reconstruct some sort of copies of traditional ones. He also writes about the relation between music and buildings, the Slow Food Movement and how slowing down life can make you notice things that had never caught your attention before, or about the importance of preserving battlefields as a reminder and homage at the same time. A very witty and concise piece is called “Past Imperfect”, in which Young ironically mocks the tendency to build copies of historic buildings or unique places (Eiffel tower, Venice Doge’s Palace and many others) in Las Vegas. Indeed, why would Americans need to travel aboard and discover the history of Europe or Asia if they can just fly to Vegas and find perfect copies, in air-conditioned areas, surrounded by newly-constructed golf courses and great casinos? Why not use Las Vegas as some sort of preservation center, where copies would be made so that the original can be torn down?
The part called Guides and Fellows Travelers then focuses on a few people, such as Anne Pamela Cunnigham, called the “Mother of the American Preservation Movement”, or specific places. Young, for instance, tells us the story of the people in Toluca who fought to preserve two hills, the “Jumbos”, because they were part of the historic heritage of their city. Another article, “Looking Injustice in the Face” raises the question of how to make a monument or a historic site commemorating an injustice. Using the example of California’s “war relocation centers” for Japanese-Americans during World War II, Young wonders how should such a part of our past be interpreted, how it should be organized so as to encourage visitors to come, face the past and accept to think about what one usually tries to forget. Finally, his article called “Of Paint, Clay, and Marble”, which links September 11 and the situation of the United States to a trip he made through the country side, then to Chesterwood before finally going back to Washington and sit by the Lincoln Memorial, is uniquely simple and yet so powerful.
Destinations closes the collection with essays about buildings and their liveliness. During a trip to Russia, Young went to Kizhi and found there three buildings that felt amazingly special and awe-striking to him. There was a bell tower, the Church of the Intercession and the Church of the Transfiguration. He uses those three buildings and how they made him feel to point at one very important aspect of preservation: it is not always only about preserving something with a particular meaning, but it is also about aesthetic and taking care of unique architectures. Young also hopes that the new City Museum of Washington will encourage its visitors to just go out, walk around and enjoy certain neighborhoods of the city, pay attention to new details.
Buildings and places should be looked at as a link to our past, a tangible connection with those that were there before. Therefore, they should not only be looked at as cold stones, immobile structures. They are telling us something; they are history, but are also unique, beautiful and special. Young’s articles have that way of grabbing their readers, leading them towards a most unexpected path, one that combines historic preservation and emotions. I was afraid to start reading essays from some sort of tree-hugger from the preservation movement. Instead, I ended up reading pieces written in a great style, with ideas put onto paper in a smart and witty way, combining preservation issues with broader perspectives.
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2 comments:
You do a great job identifying Young's argument about emotional connection to certain places and buildings. Emotion is the backbone of Public History. We would not be doing this if we didn't love the work (because it's certainly not for the money!!). I agree that Young highlights aesthetics as an important part of connecting to a historic place. However, he interweaves the concept of historical context in examples like battlefield preservation, where the connection is not as much with the physicality of the place. As public historians we connect emotionally to the physical and historical aspects of sites. Are there any specific sites that are special to you or have pushed you into the field?
Both you and Shannon are correct to identify Young’s use of personal/emotional attachment to a location as appealing and entertaining to the reader, but I think we can take it a step further and perhaps suggest that he is incorporating this technique to appeal to his audience for direct action on their part to preserve these historical landmarks. The use of emotional appeal is not new, but I believe Young does a wonderful job of incorporating it with his personal accounts to motivate people into action. Many people do not become involve with important movements because of their lack of connection to them. If by some chance, we are able to bridge that gap, and force people to look around and identify with places that are important to them, then I believe as public historians/preservationists we have a fighting chance to successfully increase awareness and support for our preservationist causes.
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